EAGLE RIVER - Over 30 thousand people will attend the 50th Anniversary World Championship Snowmobile Derby in Eagle River this weekend.

One of them was Governor Scott Walker, who stopped by tonight to deliver opening remarks.

He talked about the grand tradition of the derby and how important the snowmobiling industry is to Wisconsin.

With over 25 thousand miles of trails, snowmobiling brings in about 1 billion dollars.

The Governor emphasized how important the industry is to our state.

"When we think of the winter, coming out in this part of the state and around the state, snowmobiling is a key part of tourism, a key part of our states economy. We want to make sure people keep coming back for that over and over again," said Gov. Scott Walker.

Gov. Walker declared this week Snowmoblie Safety Week

He says safety is the number one priority out on the trails.

"We want to make sure that when people are out on the trails, theyre having a lot of fun but they're doing it safely so they keep coming back over and over again. Because we've got some of the best trails in the world not only at this track, but Eagle River is the snowmobile capitol of the world and we want to keep people coming back," said Gov. Walker.

Gov. Walker adds the snowmoblie derby is a jewel for the state and the entire country.

He said he even remembers hearing about the derby when he was a child.

- It's a clash. More schools want to provide technology for students, like laptops. But some students can't use them at home for lack of internet access. Find out how one local school district handles this problem, tonight on Newswatch 12.

- Plus, the state championship for high school gymnastics takes place this weekend in Madison. One Rhinelander athlete had her best performance of her career in sectionals and will head to state.

We'll have the details on these stories and more tonight on Newswatch 12 - news from where you live.

CHESTER, IL - A former suburban Chicago police officer convicted of killing his third wife and suspected in his fourth wife's disappearance has pleaded not guilty to trying to hire someone to kill the prosecutor who helped put him in prison.

Drew Peterson entered the plea Tuesday in a southern Illinois courtroom with his feet shackled. He also waived a preliminary hearing.

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